Some Firsts

Landon ate his first yogurt on his own.  It's funny because I let the other boys do this so much sooner.  Guess having a carpet instead of tile/laminate under my table has made me less courageous about self-feeding.  He loved it so much.  We also allowed applesauce a few days later, but most of that ended up in his hair. 

Action Shot

I made my first "from scratch" cake this week for Jared's birthday.  It is a Black Forest Cake and it was so good.  I was very impressed with myself and am not afraid to brag about it.

Jared turned 30!  He was so excited and so were the boys.  Here he is with the banner they made for him.

Landon did not want to swim with the bigger boys.  He wanted to EAT!  Since they were busy swimming and didn't want to eat, Landon ate his lunch and theirs.  I am not exaggerating.  Boy ate three PBJs.

So good!

We got our first mini-van!  I have never fallen in love so quickly.  I LOVE my mini-van and have officially crossed over. 

It is a 2008 Toyota Sienna and it is perfect.  She needs a name and I will take suggestions.

We broke out the pool for the first time this season.  The weather has been perfect here!  March is a great time to visit Florida.  We would love some visitors!  Come visit us!

Random Thoughts

During dinner last week...
E: I love pasghetti!
J: It's "Spa." Spa, spa, spaghetti.
E: Yeah, spa means pasghetti!

Talking to himself after dinner...
E: I need to get out of these pants and take that bath.

Grayson, being mischevious (as usual), ...
A: Are you being a rascal, Grayson?
G: No, I'm cute!

While stopped on I-4 near Disney, Grayson became fascinated with a billboard being held up by Mickey Mouse's gloved hand.
G: Mickey's Globbe!
J: Glovvvvvvvvvvvvve.  V, v, v, vvvvvvvvvvvv.
G: Mickey's Globbe!
J: Vvvvvvvv, Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv, Vvvvvvvvvvvv.
G: Mickey's Globbe!
L: Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv!

This morning...
E: I want pancakes for breakfast.  (Seriously, this is probably the fourt day in a row he has had them.)
A: You're going to turn into a pancake.
E: No, food doesn't do that.
Later, during breakfast...
E: Mom, I looked at myself and I am NOT turning into a pancake.

Jared and the Big 3-0

My man, Jared, is turning 30 this week.  I love this guys so much. In celebration of his 30th birthday, here are 30 fun and random facts about my dear hubbabaloo.

1.  He is funny. I know that people who don't know him well may think I'm making this up.  He is very reserved in situations with individuals he doesn't know very well.  At home, he is always making us laugh with his silliness.

  2.  I love how excited he gets about Christmas and Disney World and World Cup Soccer.  He is like a little kid, for reals.

3. He makes me feel like a million bucks.  He is always complimenting me and I never get tired of it.

4. Jared is a wonderful dad.  He truly loves his children and tells me at least three times a week how jealous he is that I get to stay home and he has to go to work.

5. I love his germ phobia.  It means my house is always cleaner than it would be if I were the judge and I rarely have to clean the bathrooms (my least favorite chore).

6. Watching him around his dear friends, Gordon and Cooper, is like getting in a time machine and it's awesome.

7. It is amazing that he has sat through the entire series of Alias, Buffy, and Angel with me.  That's love my friends.

8. I am so grateful that we share the same goals in life.  The journey is sometimes difficult, but with him by my side I know that I can do anything.

9. He has the ability to talk me down and I can get detoured to "Crazytown" pretty easily.  He's my person.

10. Jared is definitely my second chance in life.

11. The man can eat, but somehow maintains his slenderness.  When we were first married, he sweetly said after a few weeks, "Honey, you need to cook more food for dinner."  Scary imagining our grocery bill when the boys share his appetite.  Who am I kidding?  Ethan can already eat more than me.

 12. I love that he is so responsible.  He never missed a class while in college, unless we were having a baby.  Even now, he has to be on his deathbed to miss work. 

13. He is so supportive of me and is always looking out for me. 

14. I love Jared's real laugh.  It comes from the gut and is one of my favorite sounds.

15. Our mutual love of fantasy novels.  We are such nerds.  You know you're jealous.

16. Those blue eyes of his still melt my heart even after 8 years. 

17. He has super scary feet, but he tries everyday to make them less scary.  I really appreciate that.

18. Jared looks good in a suit, y'all.  I'm talking double-take good.

19. He is such a trooper.  He currently cuts the hair for every member of our family, including the dog.

20. I think his love of the "ber" months is so cute. 

21. Coming home to Jared folding laundry or straightening up is the norm and not the exception.  He is really my partner in every aspect of the word.

22. One of my favorite things has always been working beside Jared.  It brings me so much joy to accomplish something with him.

23. I love Jared's ability to help me figure myself out.  You know when you feel something, but can't find the right words.  His patience and genuine interest are a gift to me.

24. Have you seen his jaw?  He's like a superhero.

25. It physically pains Jared to spend money.  He is so frugal and I am so grateful because it helps us live within a budget and provide for our family.

26. He really takes time to teach the boys things even though it means the job takes much longer.  They love helping their daddy.

27. I love that Jared is a spiritual leader in our home.  He's not perfect, but he strives to do good continually and I love him for that.

28. Seeing nuances of Jared in my children is one of my favorite things ever.

29. Up until last year, we were students.  It made for an interesting existence and I will be forever grateful to Jared for all the sacrifices he made for me and the boys.  That he puts us first always is pretty amazing, especially since selfishness is prevalent in today's world.

30. Jared loves to snuggle.  Any of his friends will tell you that this goes way back (Ahem, Gordon).  I love it.  We snuggle as a family every morning before rolling out of bed and it is the best.

Chilling with Landon (2 weeks) and watching some NBA.

 

I love this picture of us.  It was taken at my graduation a week after we were married.  We're so young and pretty here.

Candid wedding shot.  So happy together.

Goofing off with Ethan (2 years).  It is always fun around here, that's for sure. 

Hiking in Utah with Grayson (6 months).

Jared's birthday last year.  He is holding Magic Tickets.  Best gift ever.

Our latest family photo taken in January at Disney World. 

My Bro Helped Make a Movie

If you recall my post about my sweet, awesome bro from November http://www.jakrausefamily.blogspot.com/2011/11/just-thinking-about-my-brother.html, I mentioned he went to Borneo.  The film that prompted this trip is finished!  Screening party Wednesday night at the Chianti Room in St. Augustine.  For more details and a preview check out their Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thunderstorm-Productions/110951255674229.

Clean Clean Clean

Those of you with children know how difficult it is to keep your house clean. Maybe I should clarify, I do not have difficulty making sure things are sanitary (I buy stock in Clorox wipes and Purell); the difficulty lies in keeping the house tidy. I have finally learned that there is really no use in tidying up prior to bedtime because within minutes what I just put away finds its way back onto the floor. I get tired of the clutter sometimes, but if the alternative is that my boys are fully grown and nowhere to be found I will take clutter and mess any day of the week.
After a nasty bout of a stomach bug (3 of 5 were afflicted and it was so messy and gross), I saw Jared wearing shoes at all times in the house. Poor man was afraid to walk on our carpets for fear of what remnants he might encounter. The carpets were looking pretty gross altogether given we have three messy boys, a dog, and that one of those boys had serious acid reflux up until a few months ago. It was time to call in the professionals. The carpet cleaners came and cleaned the carpets and all three pieces of living room furniture. Heavenly! Fear not dear friends, you can go barefoot in our home once again.  

The couch took forever to dry.  This meant Landon could climb up on his own and make himself comfortable.

Grayson insisted I take his photo too, and this is what he gave me.  Work it.

Watching a movie.  We know how to improvise.

Why I will always love St. Augustine

We spent a few days in St. Augustine this week and I was reminded once again why I love it. For those of you who haven't been, you really must put it on your list.  St. Augustine is a beautiful coastal town in northeastern Florida.  I was born and raised there and my mom's side of the family has lived their for generations.  In fact, their family names are amongst those that settled St. Augustine in the early 1500s.  I guess the main reason I love St. Augustine is that my family is there.  On Monday, I spent the day with my cousin, Lauren and her two children, and my Aunt Joanna.  When we went to lunch, I ran into two other cousins.  I love that!  I hardly even run into people I know in Orlando.  I love that I was in town three days and ran into two relatives.  It happens to me everytime and I love it.  My mom took the day off today and we went to the zoo.  We had a blast (except for Landon--he was a cranky-crank the whole day.  I have evidence below.)  We met up with my sister and her family at the Fort and showed the children how to play St. Augustine style.

Riding the "The General" at the zoo.  We saw giraffes, elephants, rhinos, lions, snakes, kangaroos, and apes.  It was super fun and the boys loved it (except for Landon).

Running with Gigi at the Fort.

He is super fast!

Lyla rolling down the Fort hill.

Ethan's turn!  We used to love doing this as children.  We would run to the top and roll all the way down.  Stacey and I taught Ethan, Grayson, and Lyla to do it today and they had a blast.  We tried to join in and could only roll a few times before we wanted to throw up.  I guess we're too old to roll down the hill properly.

Logan, Aunt Stacey, and Grayson picnicing.

Here is how Landon spent most of the day.  I'm pretty sure he was super tired and he was inconsolable.  At one point, I just put him down and let him cry.  He was so pathetic and heartbreaking.

Yardwork

This is the first home we've lived in where we've had to do yard work.  I have found that I truly love being in the yard.  I really like being outside, especially right now because it is perfect weather.  The only thing I don't like is that there always seems to be more to do than I can ever get to with three rabble-rousers around all the time.  I've got a couple photos of some things I've been up to.  My first goal was to clean out the years of overgrowth and self-propagating and lack of care.  The first picture is a photo taken last August when we moved in.  Excuse the drying diapers in the forefront.   You can see how bad it is along the side and back of the fence.  I haven't tackled the back fence because it is the worst and will take a lot of time.  I did finish the left side of the fence, which you can see in the second photo.  (Also, we got our summer pool.  Gonna fill her up in the next week or so.)  The last two photos are flowers I have planted.  They have been flourishing for two weeks now, so I think we're off to a good start.  I planted a hibiscus, two snapdragons, two pintas, one lantana, and two strawberries in the back yard.  I also planted a dahlia and some sunflower seeds back there.  The dahlia is not doing as well, but the seeds have sprouted and I hope they make it.  In the front, I planted impatiens and coleus.  They are growing so good!  I didn't take a picture because the wind has been crazy and keeps undoing all my great clean up work.  I've raked and bagged leaves three times out front.  We had a storm last night and it is back to looking terrible.  When I clean it up again, I'll post photos of the front.